Storm Recovery Following Sandy presented at the July 24, 2014 Beach Special Area Management Plan Stakeholder Meeting. Amy Grzybowski, Director of Planning, Code Enforcement & Grant Administration at Town of Westerly, RI View the video here: http://new.livestream.com/universityofrhodeisland/StormRecoveryRI

1. Storm Recovery
Following Sandy
Westerly, RI
Beach SAMP
July 24, 2014

3.  Riverine flooding : approx, 150-200 homes affected
 25-30 commercial structures affected
 Ground water table (flooding) 400+ home that we know
of!
 Power loss 3-6 days in most affected areas “made for very
a soggy situation!
 Struck the manufacturing district and most densely
populated low lying neighborhood
 Surge was rapid and flooded National Grid Main Power
Station.
 Extensive debris was washed into the Pawcatuck River
March 2010 Flood Impacts

4. March Flood Photos

5.  Storm surge impacted two
city blocks or 500 structures
 3-4 feet of sand on road for
several miles
 Unsafe structures and debris
throughout impacted area
 Primarily secondary homes
and seasonal businesses
Sandy Impact to Westerly

6. Rapid Assessments
 Over 500 buildings
posted using the
Rapid Assessment
Form
 Many properties in
Misquamicut at ground level
which is approximately 5-7
feet below base flood
elevation.

7.  3-4 feet of sand on the roads
 Littered with construction debris
 Is it contaminated?
 Sand everywhere!
Sand Sand Sand

8. A Coordinated Effort to
Cleanup Misquamicut

9. North shore of Winnapaug Pond
 Unimproved private
property owned by
Audubon Society and the
Westerly Land Trust
 79 tons of debris – which
matched the amount of
debris already picked up
from within the
residential/commercial
areas in Misquamicut

10.  FEMA will reimburse for the tipping fees and equipment
usage to haul the debris to the RI Resource Recovery

11. Long Term Recovery

12.  Immediately after the storm we suspended the
issuance of building permits for two weeks.
 All electrical permits issued, even if in your own
home, had to be pulled by a licensed electrician
because we knew electrical components were wet.
Building Permits Suspended

13.  To facilitate the process, we scheduled on-site meetings with
RIDEM, CRMC, and the Town to discuss individual properties.
On-Site Meetings

14.  Applicable to renovation, restoration, and/or
replacement of structures impacted by Sandy if:
 Use remains the same
 Building volume is not increased; and
 The wastewater flow as measured by RIDEM regulations
is not increased
Disaster Recovery
Emergency Provisions

15.  Alternate Permitting Procedure
 If the conditions listed were met then Development Plan
Review will not be required instead:
 Town Planner will review the proposed plan and provide
recommendations for consideration by the Building Official
and Zoning Official in the grant of permits; and
 The Town Assessor will review proposed plan to verify pre-
existing structure size, etc.
Disaster Recovery
Emergency Provisions (cont.)

16.  Conformity to Dimensional Regulations
 Where structures are to be renovated, restored, and/or
replaced:
 Rear, front, and side yard setbacks may be equal to the pre-
existing structure to the extent of any nonconformity;
 Except for such nonconformity shall conform to rear,
front, and side yard setbacks
Disaster Recovery
Emergency Provisions (cont)

17.  Provided all conditions met the height of any
structure shall not exceed the height provided in the
Zoning Ordinance plus up to 3 feet of freeboard.
 Expired 18 months after adoption.
 Passed January 2013
Disaster Recovery
Emergency Provisions (cont)

18.  We liked our idea so much – we wanted to
continue it!
 Allows for structures to elevate with up to 3 feet
of freeboard.
 For example, height allowance is 25ft, the
structure can go as high as 28ft above BFE if 3ft is
freeboard
Freeboard Ordinance

19.  Rebuilding
 Mitigation
 Grant Opportunities
 HMGP
 CDBG DR
 NROC
 NRCS EWP
 Global Green
Still Going….

20. Why Mitigation Matters to Us
 4 Federally declared
disasters in 4 years
 Riverine and coastal
flooding
 Climate change and coastal
erosion
 Opportunity Knocks!!

21. Amy Grzybowski
Director of Planning, Code Enforcement & Grant
Administration / EMA Director
(401) 348-2617
agrzybowski@westerly.org
Contact Information